Scum of the Earth
by Sakirin
Summary: [Post-LotR] When a disenchanted Legolas falls into darkness, he begins to find it to his liking. Will someone be able to bring him back to light, or will the darkness he has come to love claim him as her own? Final chapter (Abandonment of Light) is up!
1. Vices of Men

Disclaimer:  I do not own LoTR or any of its characters.  I just decided to borrow them and play with them for a little while.  No harm done.  Not much, anyway.  
  
Warnings:  
  
Rated R for language and drug references/usage, which does not appear in the first few chapters.  Possibility of sexual references and/or situations in later chapters.  
  
And, for those oh-so lovely rabid fangirls of Legolas, be forewarned that Legolas is not as he once was.  He now has a number of, erm, issues.  Yes, issues is the right word.  
  
I also have a tendency to write short chapters. It helps keep me on track.  
  
Notations (my HTML just doesn't like me):  
  
{thought}  
  
\flashback/  
  
[author insertion]  
  
Now, on with the fanfic...  
  
Chapter One: |Vices of Men|  
  
        Legolas took a long, drawn out pull from the cigarette, Elrond's voice fading in and out of his hearing.   {Gandalf would be disappointed...} this was a far cry from the old wizard's favorite pastime.    
  
"Legolas. Legolas! Are you even listening to me?"  
  
"Not really."  The elf brushed a stray bit of hair behind his ear, clearly disinterested.  
  
"The vices of Men do not suit you, young one."  Elrond's disapproval was just as clear.  
  
"Do they not?  This world is no longer ours, old one.  It is the world of Men now, whether we like it or not.  And I am not young, not any longer."  He let his cigarette fall to the floor, crushing it beneath his foot.    
  
Elrond's displeasure was becoming more and more evident by now, and he was on the verge of losing his temper.  " I am older than you by far; I may call you what I wish.  This disrespect you have for yourself and others is not fitting for the Prince of Mirkwood!"  
  
"I am Prince of nothing, old fool!  Mirkwood is no longer, and we Elves shall soon follow it!"  
  
        He had gone too far this time, he could see it in Elrond's eyes.  Elrond, however, chose not to respond.  Perhaps it was because he knew the truth behind Legolas' words.  Whatever he thought, he kept it to himself as he left the room, leaving Legolas alone with his dark thoughts.    
  
        He was so bitter now, so cynical.  So different from the noble archer who has set out from Rivendell those many years ago.  But that was all done now, the Fellowship would die with him.  Back then, he had been nothing like this.  But now, he found, the vices of Men suited him very, very well. 


	2. Secrets in the Dark

Disclaimer: Once again, I do not own LoTR or any of its characters. If only…  
  
Notations:  
  
{thought}  
  
\flashback/  
  
[author insertion]  
  
Chapter 2: |Secrets in the Dark|  
  
He slipped quietly out of the room, tucking his now-empty wallet in his back pocket. He'd left more than she required, but he wasn't in the mood to care. He had things to do today, and he was in a hurry to get them done. Having made his way out of the run-down apartment building, he slipped into a darkened alleyway. The first hints of dawn were touching the sky as he lifted the sewer cover at the end. Like a night creature fleeing the agony of light, he dropped into the darkness and pulled the cover back, hiding the darkness from the light.  
  
Legolas grimaced as he splashed down into the sewers; no matter how many times he did this, he never got used to the smell. It was, however, and undeniable fact of life, and he'd just have to deal with it. He followed the winding and branching paths of the underground for what seemed like hours, crawling around in the dark and filth for a secret. And a secret he would find, although it be not the one he sought. 


	3. Come Here, Little One

Disclaimer: You know the drill. I don't own LoTR or any of its characters.  
  
Notations:  
  
{thought}  
  
\flashback/  
  
[author insertion]  
  
Chapter 3 |Come Here, Little One|  
  
In retrospect, he'd been careless. Sloshing around without a thought to might have been around to hear, down there in the dark. And someone had.  
  
She was curious, the Little One. With no one but orcs, goblins, and her whining twin brother for company in this world-beneath-the-streets, she needed something different once in a while. Not that she minded tham, precisely, she just wanted a little something to entertain her, if only for a short while. She'd gotten good at slipping away unnoticed, but she'd never been able to gather up the courage to go above. She liked the dark – nothing was more beautiful, more comforting than the darkness' embrace. She'd seen the moon and stars plenty of times, through openings here and there. The prospect of something much brighter than a dim light, something that could take away her beloved darkness away from her, frightened her to no end. She stopped her aimless course, staring off into the darkness, lost in thought.  
  
{What was that?} She knew no one had followed her, but she could have sworn she'd heard something. {Wait…there it is again!} Forward a little, then down a passageway to the left. Excited now, not thinking of possible dangers, she turned the corner… 


	4. Little Girl Lost

Disclaimer: You know the drill. I don't own LoTR or any of its characters.  
  
Warning: Foul language  
  
Notations:  
  
{thought}  
  
\flashback/  
  
[author insertion]  
  
Chapter 4 |Little Girl Lost|  
  
{Shit!} Legolas slammed his would-be attacker against a muck-covered wall, using his free hand to jerk back the hood of their sweatshirt…and got the surprise of his life. Wide hazel eyes stared defiantly up at him, half- hidden by a curtain of shoulder-length brown hair. And while he was busy collecting flies with his open mouth, his captive planted her knee in a very uncomfortable place, causing him to double over and lose his cigarette as the world danced circles around him.  
  
"Fuck, you little bitch! What do you think you're doing? That was my last one, damn you!  
  
She flashed him a sweet, sarcastic smile from a safe distance away.  
  
"C'mon, it's nothing but a little cigarette. You can do so much better than one of those."  
  
Legolas wasn't really one to judge people before he knew them, but she was annoying him within only a couple of sentences. Oh well. Fire with fire, they say.  
  
"Oh, I'm sure. And what would such a sweet little thing like yourself know about that?"  
  
This time he was rewarded with an aggravating, self-satisfied smirk.  
  
"More than you would think. I could show you…that is, if you think you're up to it."  
  
{Well, if that's what she thinks..}  
  
"I'm game. Just show me the way."  
  
He bowed mockingly, the words leaving his mouth before he had a chance to think about what he may have just agreed to. Oh, fuck. This could mean trouble. Big trouble. And that was an understatement. 


	5. Trust Me and You Will See

Warning:  
  
This chapter contains drug usage/hallucinations. Nothing macabre, really, just a lot of confusion. If it bothers you that much, you could always just skip it.  
  
Notations:  
  
{thought}  
  
\flashback/  
  
[author insertion]  
  
Chapter 5 |Trust Me and You Will See|  
  
She drew him along behind her, left, right, right again, a series of lefts. For an eternity she led him down, down into the darkness that was her world. Winding deeper and darker down, almost as if to the center of the Earth itself. Finally she stopped, and he noticed for the first time that he was utterly and completely lost. At last they'd arrived at their intended destination, a dimly lit room a shabby old couch and chest of drawers. It was to this the unknown girl went, opening a drawer and rummaging around through a myriad of things that Legolas was unable to see. After a moment she found what she was looking for, and came back to him.  
  
"Close your eyes for me, and put out your hand. Trust me."  
  
He did so without question – perhaps it was the tone of her voice, the look in her eye. He could feel her put something almost insubstantial into the palm of his waiting hand. Unable to resist, he opened his eyes to have a peek. It certainly didn't look very impressive – a thin little square of…gelatin, maybe? Whatever it was, she didn't give him much of a chance to inspect the thing.  
  
"Swallow it. Just do it."  
  
Again, without thought or question, he did exactly as she said. And waited. There wasn't much at first, making him wonder if maybe she was playing some sort of game with him. That was, until the room got considerably colder, and he felt himself starting to sweat. Dazedly, as his heart began to beat faster, he wondered what she'd given him, what it might do to him. He didn't wonder long, as he soon lost coherent thought.  
  
Something lunged at him out of the corner of his eye; he jumped backwards, tripping over something, and fell, fell into the dark…  
  
— fear-need…HELP fallingfallingfalling  
  
NO  
  
dark-dark-light Too much light… SAVE me  
  
too much light —  
  
The shadow lunged out from under the couch, coming at him again. He yelled, lashed out, but the shadow engulfed his hand, spat it back out. Blood, orange-yellow-green blood, dripping downdowndown from his hand, back into the light-dark. He could hear it, the orange-yellow-green of it.  
  
The couch was talking to him, he could see it whispering dark things, dark-light things that he couldn't-didn't understand. He leaned in to see it better, and fellfell again, soso deep into the light-dark.  
  
He wasn't expecting the rat, gray and sickly-glowing crimson, gnashing, gnashing its teeth at him. And as the light-dark took him ever deeper, there was nothing, nothing but his screams… 


	6. Promises Kept, Secrets Revealed

Warnings for:  
  
Language  
  
Drug references  
  
Notations:  
  
{thought}  
  
\flashback/  
  
[author insertion]  
  
Chapter 6 |Promises Kept, Secrets Revealed|  
  
When he woke, it was as if from a dream. His head hurt terribly, and, come to think of it, so did his hand. It took him a few moments to focus, but when he did, he found that his left hand was relatively well- bandaged.  
  
{The hell happened to me? And where am I, anyway?}  
  
"Ah, so you're finally awake. I was beginning to wonder."  
  
She left the end of the sentence hang in the air, and he, too, wondered…at the implications of that remark.  
  
"Huh? Who are you? What did you do to me?"  
  
"Oh, you can't tell me you don't remember. Think about it. You will remember, eventually, even if you find that you'd rather not."  
  
An all-too familiar sweet smile, but who was she? He still couldn't see her clearly in the darkness on the other side of the room. Where had the light gone? He thought he remembered a light in this room…  
  
He looked at his hand again, staring hard at it, trying to remember. It wasn't long before he did. The falling, the shadow, the very couch he now rested on. The terrifying light-dark, both and neither. The winding, twisting way down, following the girl who had led him into darkness. The girl who had promised him something better, and given him just that.  
  
"What was that? What did you give me?"  
  
He wanted to know more about it, was desperate to know, the thing that had shown him which were both wonderful and terrible. Terrible, more than anything.  
  
"Lysergic acid diethylamide. For short, LSD. How are you feeling? You startled me when you broke the light bulb and cut yourself."  
  
"Oh. So that's what I did."  
  
That would mean the shadow was – no, he didn't want to think about that just now.  
  
"You have the most intriguing scream, you know."  
  
As if the suggestion in that statement weren't blatant enough, she leaned in, a predatory look in those hazel eyes of hers. He smiled at her, reaching up to brush her hair out of her face. And got his second surprise of the day. She had pointed ears, remarkably similar to his own. Wait…no, something was wrong. Terribly wrong. Reacting automatically, he put out a hand to keep her from coming closer.  
  
"Who are you? Tell me. Now."  
  
"Well now, that's a nice way to treat someone who just gave you something for nothing."  
  
"Fuck that! The hell is an Elf doing wandering the sewers, with drugs hidden away down here? It doesn't make any sense, and I demand to know who you are and why you're here!"  
  
"And do I not have the right to ask the same of you? You, after all, were wandering the sewers as I was. In places you shouldn't have been, on top of that."  
  
"Places I shouldn't be? And what gives you the right to go where I cannot?"  
  
Whatever the answer to his question, he didn't get to hear it. As the hidden door of the room scraped slowly open, she granted him another of those sweet smiles of hers.  
  
"Oh yes, my Elven prince, I kept my promise. I always keep my promises."  
  
And as a fist came down on his head, he fell into darkness again. 


	7. Turnabout is Fair Play

Notations:  
  
{thought}  
  
\flashback/  
  
[author insertion]  
  
Chapter 7 |Turnabout is Fair Play|  
  
He was lost — hopelessly so. For all he knew he'd been wandering around down here for days, or maybe just several hours. There was no way of knowing, down here in the dark.  
  
He was hungry, thirsty, tired. He knew that much, at least, but not much more. His head was no longer ringing from the blow to the head they'd given him they took him. Filthy, disgusting orcs. They'd fed him, while they had him, even if it had been rancid. His cell had been nothing but a stinking hole, and the pair of goblins guarding him no less foul, as well as being some of the densest creatures he'd ever had the displeasure of encountering. The only redeeming thing about which had been how easy it had made his escape.  
  
In the time he'd been down here, his vision had adjusted itself very well. He found himself thinking he could almost get used to life in the darkness. It couldn't be that bad, after all…  
  
And as that disturbing revelation crossed his mind, his recent past began to repeat itself. He spun 'round and grabbed the girl, pinning her up against the wall. This time he managed to keep her there despite her struggles.  
  
"Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you now."  
  
"You don't know the way out of here, for one."  
  
Well, she did have a point.  
  
"So you're offering to show me so you can trick me again, is that it?"  
  
"Hmm, someone got smart." Her tone was mocking.  
  
"Then how about you tell me the way out of here? Sounds like a much better plan of action to me."  
  
"How about 'No'?"  
  
She spat in his face, struggling to free herself again. When that didn't work, she bit him. Hard. Even that didn't do her any good, he just cursed and forced her back to the wall.  
  
"Tell me, or I'll kill you. How's that sound to you?  
  
From the way he said it, she assumed he was most likely quite serious. She couldn't overpower him, so it would be better to let him go than die trying to stop him.  
  
She sighed, resigned. "Fine, this is how you get out…"  
  
__________________  
  
She could have lied to him, but for whatever reason, she hadn't. He shifted his awkward burden to keep a better balance as he pushed off the sewer cover and climbed up onto the street, grimacing. It was far too early in the morning for anyone to be out and about in this part of the city. All the same, he turned back into an alley before setting down his burden so he could rest. He regretted having to knock her out like that, but, come to think of it, it was only fair. She'd done much the same to him, after all.  
  
Rested, he lifted her up once more and went on his way.  
  
And he wondered, not for the first time, if it hadn't been such a good idea to bring her, after all.  
  
{Elrond's gonna kill me for this…} 


	8. A Fate Worse Than Death

[The title implies to the last line of chapter 7. Nobody dies…yet. My friend seemed to find this chapter immensely humorous, but perhaps that's just because she's strange like that. There's very little dialogue in this chapter, since I'm not very good at it.]  
  
Disclaimer:  I do not own LoTR or any of its characters.  I just decided to borrow them and play with them for a little while.  No harm done.  Not much, anyway.  
  
Warnings:  
  
*scritch* For once, this chapter doesn't really have anything very bad…there are a few, shall we say, sexual implications?  
  
Notations (my HTML just doesn't like me):  
  
{thought}  
  
[author insertion]  
  
  
  
[A/N: I was going to post this yesterday, but I got sidetracked and forgot. It's taken me forever to write just because I'm having the worst problems figuring out how to get to where I want to go – this fic started with an idea for an ending, really. I was going to start sticking flashbacks in, but I scrapped that idea entirely. And now the disk with all my fanfics on it has disappeared, which is a frightening prospect. It would probably be very bad if someone found that…]  
  
Chapter Eight: |A Fate Worse Than Death|  
  
Alright, so maybe that assumption had been a little off, but it was close enough. Once Elrond recovered from the shock of Legolas walking in during the wee hours of the morning, he'd certainly had no trouble finding the words to express exactly what he thought at that particular moment in time. The origins of some of those words were of no interest to the younger, they sounded bad enough without knowing what they meant. And that was before Elrond even noticed what, more appropriately who, Legolas had draped over his shoulder. With any luck, he'd never forget Elrond's face as he realized what Legolas was carrying. Nevermind being chewed out more times than he cared to remember, it was all worth the end result, however unintentioned it may have been.  
  
That had been a few hours ago, and Legolas' head was still reeling. Things had been thrown into an uproar, a number of those awakened were still crabbing, and everything was in utter chaos. Finally away from a severely displeased Elrond – if only he knew the half of it – and numerous indignant inhabitants of the apartment building [A/N I'll go into this later…and it's probably obvious that it's not the same one as in chapter 2], Legolas was ready to curl up in a corner and sleep for the next month. And be damned if someone had a problem with it, they could slap sticky notes on him for all he cared. He'd get back to them later. Much later, the way he was feeling.  
  
It was with great relief that he opened the door to his room and flipped on his light, more than ready to find himself a clean change of clothes and get right on that sleeping thing.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
He was beginning to get very sick of surprises. He'd walked into his own room to find a very indignant, very upset, and very much unclothed woman in his bed. And now here he was, carrying on a civil conversation with the very same person who had tricked him. Well, had been having, anyway. She was sleeping now, which he wished he could be doing, but he was too busy thinking to sleep.  
  
Assuming that she was to be believed, she was a Half-Elf who had been kidnapped and raised by Orcs with her twin brother. Far-fetched though it was, he was inclined to believe her. Something about her still made him want to trust her, even after being tricked. Besides, from what he'd seen, it struck him as being entirely possible.  
  
The one question remaining in his mind was whether or not she would prove to be an ally or an enemy. Personally, he was hoping for ally – there were so many possibilities there…no, better derail that train of thought before it got any farther. Which reminded him, he needed sleep. Maybe he'd go find a couch somewhere; it probably wouldn't be a good idea to stay here all night. He got up and turned to go, but paused back to look at her innocently sleeping form. He sighed and walked back over to pull up the covers a bit, only to find himself quite uncomfortably down at her level. She winked at him, grinning mischievously.  
  
"And where do you think you're going, may I ask?"  
  
"For the moment, it looks like nowhere."  
  
"Ah, that's what I thought."  
  
And he let her pull him down beside her in the darkness, putting his forbidden thoughts to shame.  
  
  
  
[A/N: Ah, yes, now we're starting to get somewhere. Forgive any typos, I didn't have any time to go over it – the kennel club meeting ran later than I thought it would, and I need sleep. We have exams next week, so it might be a while before I can write the next chapter. Our "Little Girl Lost" still needs a name, though. Perhaps I shall call her Morgan, short for Morgwilien. Well, that should be it. But don't forget…: R E V I E W. We like them, that we do.] 


	9. Abandonment of Light

Disclaimer: Still not mine.  
  
Well, it took me seven months and then some to get around to writing the last chapter, simply because I didn't know how to do what I wanted to do. And, eventually, it got stowed away in the cobwebbed corners of my mind. Regardless, I finally got around to writing the last chapter (I was originally going to have one more before the end chapter, which was where I kept getting hooked up) when I couldn't sleep. So, well, here it is.  
  
---  
  
Chapter Nine: |Abandonment of Light|  
  
When he awoke, it was to the hazy twilight of the city coming in through the cracks in the blinds. Legolas lay there for some time, idly running his fingers through his hair as he stared up at the chipping paint of his ceiling. If he looked hard enough, like a child pointing at cloud shapes on a summer's day, he could just see the outline of a -  
  
"Legolas, wake up! Now, I tell you!"  
  
His mind jerked into awareness and he struggled through a tangle of sheets to get to the door before Elrond knocked it down in his haste. A look of disgust greeted him when he managed to get the door open; one he was not unused to seeing, as a matter of fact.  
  
"Well then, Master Godiva, when you've finished dressing, you're coming with me. That creature you brought back with you from your little outing is gone, and she killed poor Amras on her way out. Not only do you have some explaining to do, you have some finding to do as well."  
  
---  
  
And so it was that he came into darkness a second time, but now with Elrond following. If he noticed that Legolas' shirt was on backwards, or that the braid behind his left ear was coming undone, he made no comment, which was probably for the better.  
  
Once more did Legolas wander the dark ways, and once more did he come to the place where he'd found her, but this time he did not stop: some strange sense kept him moving, down and deeper down into the dark places of the world. Somehow, he knew his way, the way to her. The darkness knew him, guided him, wrapped him in its blissful embrace. A darkness that knew his secrets, and promised to share its own with him, if only he surrender his heart. His world dwindled, narrowed, until there was naught but shadow and the footfalls of Elrond behind him.  
  
It was then, when all purpose and knowledge seemed lost, that his journey came to an abrupt end. There, before him, were two pairs of hazel eyes. It was her, of course, and her twin. No other in all the world possessed eyes quite like that, so bright and so dark at the same time. Although, it seemed, her twin's were more dark than bright. Impulsively, he stretched out a hand toward her, only to feel the edge of a dagger just brushing his throat.  
  
"Stupid Elf. Nothing but a foolish Elf and his foolish keeper. What was the point of leading them here, sister, if not to put them out of their misery? What use could they possibly serve?"  
  
The other set of eyes, the bright ones, blinked once, and in that same instant his assailant's dagger fell to the ground with a splash and a clatter, followed by a dull thump and the faint gurgling of blood at the male twin's lips. He had fallen, with a dagger to -his- throat.  
  
"Perhaps no purpose that would interest you, my brother. But I have a use for him. Oh, yes, do I have a use for him. In fact-"  
  
Suddenly, without warning, Elrond sprang from behind him, dagger in hand.  
  
He never reached his target. He, too, fell; with a dagger in his back. Not the crude blade of orcs, but a shining Elvish dagger, the writing on which seemed to disappear, banished by the terrible deed it's forger never could have forseen.  
  
She slipped her hand into his, and they walked together into darkness, never again to be seen by the light. 


End file.
